Ceres Partners

What Ceres Partners does

Ceres Partners LLC is a specialist investment manager focused exclusively on food and agriculture, headquartered in South Bend, Indiana with a branch office in Hingham, Massachusetts. Founded in 2007, the firm operates two primary investment vehicles: Ceres Farms, LLC, an open-ended co-mingled farmland fund that identifies, acquires, and manages productive U.S. agricultural land leased to local farmers growing corn, soybeans, wheat, and specialty crops; and the Ceres Food & Agriculture Opportunity Fund (FAO), a private equity fund that invests growth equity in emerging operating businesses across the food and agriculture value chain. The firm also maintains a Water Investments vertical extending its thesis into water-related assets. As of March 31, 2026, Ceres Farms held over $2.063 billion in total assets across more than 176,000 acres of farmland in 12 U.S. states, making it one of the largest dedicated U.S. farmland investment managers.

The firm's business model is traditional asset management: it earns management fees (and likely performance fees) on assets under management across its two fund vehicles, with investment minimums and fees negotiated bilaterally with institutional investors and family offices. There are no proprietary technology platforms; operations center on physical asset acquisition, tenant relationship management, and agronomic/land stewardship. Marketing is conducted through a professional website, thought leadership including the Behind the Markets Podcast featuring CIO Brandon Zick, and industry press coverage in outlets such as Agri Investor. Customer segments are institutional and high-net-worth investors seeking alternative real-asset exposure for diversification, inflation hedging, and steady income generation, with farmland's low correlation to traditional stocks and bonds as a core value proposition.

In October 2025, WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE: WT) completed its acquisition of Ceres Partners for $275 million in cash upfront plus a potential $225 million earn-out payment in 2030 contingent on achieving 12-22% compounded annual revenue growth over five years. The acquisition added approximately $1.85 billion in AUM across 545 U.S. farmland properties to WisdomTree's platform and is intended to position WisdomTree as a category leader in U.S. farmland investment, with stated ambitions to raise over $750 million in additional farmland assets and double base fee revenue by year-end 2030. Ceres continues to operate under its existing brand within WisdomTree's private markets division, with leadership including CIO Brandon Zick and President Perry Vieth.

Name

Ceres Partners

Legal name

Ceres Partners LLC

Website

https://www.cerespartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ceres Partners is a specialist investment manager focused exclusively on food and agriculture, operating the Ceres Farms farmland fund and the Ceres Food & Agriculture Opportunity private equity fund for institutional and high-net-worth investors. The firm manages $2+ billion across 176,000+ acres in 12 U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Farmland Investment Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Crop Production (111)

SIC

Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Assets & Infrastructure ETFs (REITs, Infrastructure, Natural Resources) (FSAAAFAH)

Keywords

• Farmland investment management
• Agricultural private equity
• Food and agriculture funds
• Farmland acquisition leasing
• Alternative asset management

Headquarters

HQ city

South Bend

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Investment Management Fees: Ceres Partners generates revenue through management fees charged on assets under management across its two investment vehicles: Ceres Farms (farmland fund) and Ceres Food & Agriculture Opportunity Fund (private equity). Fee structure is based on AUM size with base fee revenue targeted to double by year-end 2030 following WisdomTree acquisition.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Ceres Partners is a specialist investment manager that acquires and manages U.S. agricultural land through its Ceres Farms, LLC fund and invests growth equity in food and agriculture operating companies through the Ceres Food & Agriculture Opportunity Fund. The firm leases its acquired farmland to local row-crop farmers (corn, soybeans, wheat, specialty crops) and generates revenue through management fees on assets under management across both vehicles, with a Water investment vertical covering water-related agricultural assets.

Product overview

Ceres Partners is a specialist investment manager focused exclusively on food and agriculture, operating two distinct investment vehicles: Ceres Farms, LLC (a co-mingled farmland investment fund launched in 2007) and the Ceres Food & Agriculture Opportunity Fund (a private equity fund for growth equity in food and agriculture companies). The firm also maintains a Water investment vertical. As of March 31, 2026, Ceres Farms held over $2.063 billion in total assets across 176,000 acres of farmland in 12 states, making it one of the largest U.S. farmland investment managers. The firm was acquired by WisdomTree in October 2025, expanding WisdomTree's private markets and alternative asset capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ceres Farms: Co-mingled investment fund launched in 2007 that invests in U.S. farmland, acquiring properties and leasing them to local farmers who grow corn, soybeans, wheat, or specialty crops on a scheduled rotation.
• Ceres Food & Agriculture Opportunity Fund (FAO)

Products and services

• Ceres Farms, LLC A co-mingled open-ended investment fund launched in 2007 that identifies, acquires, and manages productive U.S. agricultural land, leasing properties to local farmers who grow corn, soybeans, wheat, or specialty crops on a scheduled rotation. Targeted at institutional and qualified investors seeking farmland exposure.
• Ceres Food & Agriculture Opportunity Fund (FAO) A private equity fund vehicle that invests growth equity in diverse emerging operating companies in the food and agriculture sector. Targeted at institutional and qualified investors seeking growth-equity exposure to the food/agriculture value chain.
• Ceres Water Investments Investment vehicle focused on water-related assets within the food and agriculture sector. Targeted at investors seeking exposure to agricultural water assets as part of a broader food/agriculture thematic allocation.
• Farmland Portfolio Portfolio of over 176,000 acres of U.S. farmland across twelve states, with total assets of over $2.063 billion as of March 31, 2026. Underlying investment objectives include income generation, capital appreciation, low volatility, and low correlation to other asset classes.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4-8% annual cash income from row crop farmland rents
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• StepStone Group: StepStone is a global private markets investment manager with real-asset capabilities; it competes with Ceres for institutional alts allocations but operates across a much broader set of strategies and geographies.
• Brookfield Asset Management: Brookfield is a global alternative asset manager with a large real assets platform (including agricultural land); it competes with Ceres for institutional real-asset allocations but at vastly greater scale and broader mandate.

Direct peers

• Nuveen (TIAA): Nuveen manages a large global farmland portfolio via Westchester Group Investment Management, directly competing with Ceres in institutional U.S. farmland investing and real asset strategies.
• AgIS Capital: AgIS Capital is a specialized farmland investment advisor that manages institutional capital deployed into U.S. row crop and permanent crop farmland, directly comparable to Ceres Farms in strategy and customer type.
• Gladstone Land Corporation: Gladstone Land is a publicly traded farmland REIT focused on acquiring and leasing farmland to farmers, directly comparable to Ceres Farms on the buy-and-lease farmland strategy for institutional investors.
• Westchester Group Investment Management: Westchester is one of the oldest U.S. farmland investment managers and is now part of Nuveen, with a buy-and-lease strategy that directly mirrors Ceres Farms' operating model across the Midwest.
• Paine Schwartz Partners: Paine Schwartz is a private equity firm focused exclusively on sustainable food and agribusiness, directly comparable to Ceres' FAO private equity fund for growth equity investments in the sector.
• Manulife Investment Management: Manulife's John Hancock Agricultural Investment Group is one of the largest U.S. farmland investment managers, directly competing with Ceres Farms in buy-and-lease row crop strategies for institutional capital.
• Farmland Partners Inc. Farmland Partners is a publicly traded farmland REIT that acquires and leases U.S. row crop farmland — overlapping directly with Ceres Farms on asset class, geography, and tenant lease model.

Emerging players

• Iroquois Valley Farmland REIT: Iroquois Valley is a farmland-focused public REIT operating with a smaller, mission-driven portfolio; it overlaps with Ceres Farms on the buy-and-lease row crop farmland model but at a meaningfully smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ceres-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ceres Partners